So, it looks like records of every phone call in the United States have been obtained and catalogued by the NSA since September 11th, in addition to their now not-so-secret, arguably unconstitutional, unquestionably controversial domestic spying program. I’m not sure which I think is worse, data mining everyone’s phone records, or eavesdropping without warrants – they’re both pretty bad.  On one hand, the Fourth Amendment (which protects against illegal search and seizure) appears to be getting a thorough trampling as of late, and if things continue to go as they have been, may go the way of the Dodo.  Additionally, there are the well-publicized FISA laws, which are designed to specifically handle the sort of secret wiretaps that the President decided to blatantly ignore. All of this has me extremely concerned, not because I’ve done anything wrong, but because our government is setting the stage to grant far more power to the Executive branch than it’s entitled. Let me explain.
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I just read the following article from The Globalist. It’s says a lot of really good things – things, I think, haven’t been said enough. So I’m going to link to it here, and hope that maybe some of you will read it.

The Peace Corps and the U.S. Image Abroad by Kevin Quigley.

I just read in the Boston Globe today an article talking about taxing owners of hybrid and other alternative-fuel vehicles, because “drivers should bear their fair share to fill potholes and fix bridges, regardless of how much or what kind of fuel they use.”
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[Formerly "What's Big Oil Up To?"]

It was recently reported that Exxon Mobil has netted nearly ten billion dollars in profits, a new record high for all U.S. corporations, in the financial quarter following the gulf coast’s devestation in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

What’s going on here? We, the American Public, have been told that the record-high gas prices of the last several months has been directly attributable to reduced oil reserves and processing abilities caused by this year’s hurricane season. I believed, along with most others I think, that the extra bills I lost at the pump were going to rebuild refineries and whatnot – but it sounds like the oil tycoons have been pocketing a huge amount of that money for their own greedy selves. I mean, with industry analysts saying that Hurricane Katrina would probably cause the price of oil to rise, everyone I think pretty much expected that to happen. So we sucked it up and started eating more ramen and wearing warmer clothes to save on our food and energy bills. All while Big Oil’s raking in its highest profits in recorded history, so the fat cats at the top can buy their third yacht.
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President Bush recently spoke to the nation, in which he tried to rekindle support for his war in Iraq (read the full transcript). It was apparently supposed to be a “major policy speech,” but most of what I read was more of the same contentless, feel-good blather for which our President is so well known.
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Rome was at one time the Top Dog, the Big Cheese, the sociocultural epicenter of the civilized world. Yet in 476 A.D., it is accepted that Rome fell from power (although some theories state that Rome did not so much fall as it did slide over a period of several centuries). Why did this happen, and what can America learn from it? America is what Rome was – are we doomed to repeat history?
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I had a marginally heated discussion this morning about terrorism-related security in the United States, in particular, allowing agents of the government to search everyone boarding any form of public transportation (in addition to airplanes, busses, trains, etc.) to prevent bombs and whatnot from being smuggled aboard. Additionally, this individual was arguing in favor of allowing police to perform random searches, out and about, in the general public. “Why would you be opposed to this,” he said, “if you have nothing to hide?”

I think the argument that the only grounds for opposing unreasonable searches and seizures (Fourth Amendment anyone?) is that you must have something to hide, is a product of the kind of narrow-minded herd mentality that appears to have swept the nation since 9/11. Some parts of the Patriot Act (actual legislation) have broken down some of the safeguards provided by the Bill of Rights, in particular the First and Fourth Amendments, even though much of it contains uncontroversial and highly beneficial security measures to thwart terrorism. However, as with everything, balance is of absolutely paramount importance: we need to balance the need for increased security with the need to maintain the personal Rights that define what it is to be an American, and this requires constant vigilance. To cripple, erode, or destruct our Constitutional Rights is to cripple, erode, and destroy that which defines America as the Land of Opportunity.
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